CHENNAI: At the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games Achanta Sharath Kamal became the first Indian table tennis player to win two gold. He had won a historic singles gold too. He was a young man of 24 and had long hair and a bandana wrapped around his head. He was fit and had the intense desire to win.
Sixteen years later, the hair has receded and the quiet and ebullient young man has added vast experience to his repertoire of shots and defences... and a level head. One thing that he never compromises is fitness. Like he says, 'even water turns into fat' fitness has turned into a ritual. He never missed training sessions. With age, reflexes get weaker, so he works on reflexes. He works on his body so that he doesn't add an extra ounce.
Sharath uses a techno-training 'Real Lights', mostly used by F1 drivers, NFL and NBA players.
At Birmingham, in the twilight of his career, Sharath Kamal, stood alone once again on top -- with four medals, including three gold - a record that would take some time to overhaul.
Whether this could be his last Commonwealth Games, we don't know. He believes that as long as he performs, age is just a number. His medals are a result of immense discipline and sacrifices and a strict fitness regimen. No wonder, in a span of almost 24 hours, he featured in three finals, winning two of them.
There is less recovery time. Mind is willing but the body may not respond. With age it gets more difficult. That's the reason why this feat is considered extraordinary. Over the last few years, Sharath has been working more on fitness. In fact, the amount of time he spends for training sessions is more than what he spends on the table.
From carefully chosen diet by his nutritionist to sessions with mental strengthening experts and fitness sessions, each of it is planned in such an order that he attains peak level fitness during important events like CWG, Asian Games and Olympics. This has been his routine since the time he suffered a hamstring injury months before the Rio Olympic in 2016.
The man who looks after his fitness is Ramji Srinivasan. And he says he has never seen such a disciplined and motivated athlete at this age. “He is not someone who trains hard, but trains smart,” says Srinivasan who has been training him at Sports Dynamics for more than eight years. “Beyond an age, training needs to be smart and design a routine for yourself.”
Sharath’s personalised programme is designed in such a way that he spends a lot of time sharpening his reflexes. Apart from the usual fitness drills that keep him fit, the 'Reax Light' has become an integral part of his training. It gives a clear indication of where a player stands in terms of reflexes and hand-eye co-ordination.
After losing to three-time Olympic champion Ma Long at the Tokyo Games last year, Sharath figured his backhand was getting slower and worked extensively on it in the lead up to the CWG. And before he left for Bimingham his reaction time stood at 0.2 of a second.
“There is a lot of science that is combined with art. It is a very difficult sport to train because it is so quick, there is a lot of hand-eye co-ordination and less reaction time. As one ages, the recovery time takes long, reaction time tends to get slower especially after 35. So you have to analyse those things and pick what is needed for you,” Ramji said.
Routine training can get boring — especially for a player like Sharath who has been playing for nearly three decades. So Ramji and Sharath try to keep it engaging. “The first goal is to avoid injury. We have made each session different so that it gets interesting,” Ramji said.
Much of his off-season is used for improvement while during the season he shifts to maintenance mode. The latter part is difficult as the training schedule changes according to place, condition, accessibility and travel.
“You got to have the mind and body in sync. Some choose to have an off day and next day they compensate by working too hard at the gym. For Sharath, it is a no because his body may not respond. But the best part is, he doesn’t miss a single session even while playing in the Bundesliga in Germany.”
Before heading to Birmingham, Sharath ran 5km under 20 minutes, a clear indication of where he stood in terms of fitness. As of now, he doesn't seem to be slowing down.